Nero Burning ROM, commonly called Nero, is an optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows by Nero AG (formerly Ahead Software) located in Germany. Versions 6 to 9 were a part of Nero Multimedia Suite. As of version 10, Nero Burning Rom is available as a stand-alone product. Nero Linux is the Linux version.Nero Burning ROM supports the creation of:ISO/UDF data discsBootable discsAudio CD discsDVD-Video discsBlu-ray DiscsAVCHD video discsSecurDisc discsDisk image filesOther functions include:Ripping audio CDsConverting audio files to other audio file formatsErasing rewritable discsPrinting on discs with LightScribe and LabelFlash technologyConnection to the online music database GracenoteNero contains a player for DVDs, video files, audio files, an image viewer, and software to assist with production of DVDs and other multimedia content.Nero Burning ROM Lite and OEM versions (with hardware purchase only) are cheaper, hardware specific, reduced functionality versions of Nero Burning ROM.Image format supportNero Burning ROM works with a number of optical disc image formats, including the raw uncompressed image following the ISO9660 standard, and Nero's proprietary NRG file format. Depending on version more image formats may be natively supported.To use more formats, particularly lossless FLAC, Wavpack, and Shorten, it is necessary to install additional program modules. The modules, called plug-ins or codecs, are often freely available. Nero AG sells some video and proprietary audio plug-ins.